Reasonable Accommodation Guide focussing on persons with disabilities released

Reasonable Accommodation Guide focussing on persons with disabilities released

November 26, 2015

New Zealand’s Independent Monitoring Mechanism (comprising the Office of the Ombudsman, the Human Rights Commission and the Convention Coalition Monitoring Group) has published a guide on reasonable accommodation of persons with disabilities.

The guide is aimed at assisting persons with disabilities to understand their rights to request reasonable accommodation. It also aims to inform employers, state sector agencies, and other persons providing services to the public, of their obligation to provide reasonable accommodation to persons with disabilities in particular circumstances.

“Being reasonably accommodated in work and in education is fundamental to disabled people’s rights being made real. We are pleased this straight-forward guide has gone live today and hope that it helps employers and employees, in particular, to work to reach good working arrangements for disabled people who have plenty of value to bring into the NZ workforce," said Disability Rights Commissioner Paul Gibson.

We hope that this guide will provide useful and practical guidance on the concept of reasonable accommodation to a broad audience. We believe that the guide echoes the principles of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, and advocates for human rights and fundamental freedoms of persons with disabilities.

The guide is available in pdf and Microsoft Word formats. It will also be available in easy read format shortly, and is available in Braille on request. You can read the full guide below: